Don Osvaldo Jose Virgil was born in Montecristi, Dominican Republic, on May 17, 1933. His family moved to the Bronx, New York, when he was thirteen, and attended DeWitt Clinton HS. In 1950 he joined the US Marine Corps Reserves. He played baseball with the Marine Corps team at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina. When he got out, the New York Giants gave him a tryout and signed him. Virgil made his minor league debut in 1953 with St. Cloud, Minnesota, in the Northern League, where he hit .259. After spending the 1956 season with Minneapolis, where he hit .278 with ten home-runs and 73 rbi's, Virgil made his major league debut with the New York Giants on September 23. He appeared in three games, collecting 5 hits in 12 at bats. More importantly, he was the first Dominican to play for any major league team! And open the doors to other Dominican players like our Hall of Famer Juan Marichal, Felipe Alou, Julian Javier, Sammy Sosa, Vladimir Guerrero, Albert Pujols, Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez, Rico Carty, Cesar Cedeno,Julio Franco and many more. In 1958- eleven seasons after Jackie Robinson integrated the big leagues with the Brooklyn Dodgers- he became the first person of color to play for the Detroit Tigers. In his first game in Briggs Stadium, Detroit, on June 17, he went 5 for 5. The crowd of 29,794 serenated him with a standing ovation.